Gerards switch out of Clipsal stake

Adelaide's Gerard family has sold out of the 80-year-old Clipsal electrical wiring and fittings company in a deal that values Clipsal at around $750 million.

The family is selling its 50 per cent stake so it can repay debt, build new businesses and let the Clipsal brand grow globally, Gerard Industries chairman Rob Gerard said last night.

"I think Clipsal will be the biggest brand name Australia has ever produced," Mr Gerard said. "It will be bigger even than Foster's."

He said the Gerard family opted to sell its stake to the French company Schneider Electrical as a sharemarket float did not look an attractive option.

Schneider has revenue exceeding $15 billion a year and the deal marks its first move into wiring devices for residential and construction use.

Gerard Industries is 50:50-owned by the Gerard family and Singapore-listed Clipsal Industries Holdings (CIH). After selling, the family will retain control of a raft of other businesses accumulated over the years.

"We've been doing this for 80 years," was how Mr Gerard explained the decision to sell.

He said it was the best thing for the Clipsal brand because it could never become a world brand starting from a base of just 20 million people.

"You need a strong global partner to open some doors," he said. "This will give Clipsal a door in Europe, a door into America, doors we could never open."

Schneider is not in the wiring devices segment and will launch the Clipsal range outside Asia - in Europe and America - for the first time.

The Clipsal wiring devices business operates in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India, and turns over about $400 million a year, with operating income of about $56 million.